The present invention relates to a golf ball trajectory simulation method which estimates the trajectory of a golf ball having a plurality of dimples on the surface thereof by setting up a golf ball model on a computer and employing arithmetic operations by the computer to calculate elements of motion for the golf ball model.
It is known that when a physical body such as a golf ball flies through the air, air flow turbulence arises around the body. If the surface of the body has a complex shape or the body spins while flying, the air flow turbulence during flight becomes complex and exerts a major influence on the flight performance of the body, such as the flight distance.
Golf balls are most often provided with a large number of dimples of circular shape, as seen in a plan view. Because the combination of dimple parameters such as three-dimensional shape, arrangement and size has a major influence on the aerodynamic properties of the ball, it is necessary to understand the causal relationship between these dimple parameters and the aerodynamic properties.
Usually, to investigate the influence of changes in dimple parameters such as shape, construction and arrangement on the flight performance of a golf ball, various golf ball molds are fabricated and a variety of golf balls are test-produced. The balls are then subjected to ball hitting tests, and properties such as the initial velocity, spin rate and trajectory (flight distance, height) are measured, from which the aerodynamic properties are evaluated.
However, such experimental evaluation based on actual physical prototypes, in addition to being time-consuming and expensive, is incapable of clearly establishing the causal relationships between the shapes and arrangement of the dimples and the aerodynamic properties of the ball. For this reason, golf balls which have been newly designed based on evaluation results obtained by experimentation often fail to exhibit the intended performance. In such cases, it is necessary each time to repeat the design and production of ball prototypes and verify the aerodynamic properties. Because such a process entails further expenditures of time and cost, golf balls cannot be efficiently developed in this way.
Prior-art literature relevant to the present invention is shown below.    (1) JP-A 2002-358473    (2) JP-A 2006-275722    (3) JP-A 2005-034378    (4) JP-A 2002-340735    (5) JP-A 2002-250739